Evander Holyfield was moving up to heavyweight, but it was thought that his time, along with that of Bowe, Mercer and Lewis, was in the distant future.

Regardless of their pedigree, everyone decided that Tyson was in a class of his own.

But boxing's glamour division has always offered surprises and the class of the 1990s was no different.

It was a decade that featured a man parachuting into a ring, an ear bite as well as the first British undisputed heavyweight champion.

The incarceration of Tyson was not the first time that a boxer was forced into prison during his prime - but Tyson was certainly the most high-profile case.

With more money at stake than ever before, boxers began to feel the pressure.

Bowe, Mercer and even Holyfield endured personal problems, while a whole book could be filled with Tyson's erratic behaviour.

Yet it all combined to make heavyweight boxing the showtime package that many feel it should be.

There were some gripping fights as well.

The 10th round of the first fight between Bowe and Holyfield stands comparison with the greatest rounds of all time and the rest of the fight was very exciting as well.

Bowe's fights with Andrew Golota were hardly aesthetically pleasing - both ended in disqualification wins for Bowe - but they were exciting nevertheless.

And the first fight between Holyfield and Tyson was a memorable collision between the irresistible force and the immovable object.